Systems are known to monitor the physical properties of a tire on a vehicle such as the temperature, pressure, and the road surface in contact with the tire. One way of monitoring the physical properties of a tire includes the use of an electrical component mounted on or within the tire. In addition, electronic systems are also used to carry information about the tire, for example identification information, and communicate the information by wireless means.
The electrical component may be mounted inside of the tire to monitor one or more physical properties of the tire and then report these properties to a remote location. In order to aid in communication to and from this remote location, the electrical component may be fitted with one or more antennas. The tire is not a rigid object, but one which is at least partially flexible. The tire may flex during the building process of the tire and through normal use such as driving. As such, the electrical component and the antennas will be connected to a surface that flexes. This flexing can cause tension and other forces to be imparted upon the electrical component and the antennas, resulting in the electrical component being separated from the antennas. Obviously, such a result is undesirable. It is sometimes the case that the antennas are connected directly to an integrated circuit in the electronics component assembly and retained thereon through this connection.
An example of electronics incorporated into a tire may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/210,189 entitled “Electronics Component Assembly in a Tire” filed Jul. 31, 2002 having inventors Charles Edward Kelly, George Phillips O'Brien, and Edwin Dwane Parsons. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/210,189 is owned by the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
The present invention improves upon previous electrical components that have been integrated with tires to monitor physical properties of the tire or to provide other information transfer. The present invention provides for a more robust connection between the antennas and the electrical component used to monitor the tire such that these members will not become disengaged or break upon flexing of the tire.